Industry Growth Program

A 12 week online program consisting of targeted education, coaching and mentoring designed to equip you and your leadership team with measurable capability uplift and strategic traction when entering or transitioning into new markets.

Express your interest in the upcoming 2026 cohort

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Expand into new market, win contracts and build strategic and digital capability

The 25eight Industry Growth Program is an online micro credential program for up to three leaders of a small to medium business looking to increase strategic capabilities to transition or enter into new markets, supply chains, or complex industry pathways.

It includes:

  • Comprehensive diagnostics to understand current market dynamics and your opportunities within them

  • Structured learning that incrementally builds a bespoke expansion strategy and implementation roadmap with support requirements (digital and physical resources)

  • Business coaching for accountability and to stretch your thinking

  • Industry Mentoring to provide insights and guidance into the new market

  • Group live sessions with Industry guests and AI experts to ensure you have the latest information

  • Pitch your business to a panel of Industry for immediate feedback

This program is designed to help accelerate the progress in your approach to a new market, reduce risk and associated costs and build insights and connections.

We’ve been trusted by

Market changes happen at an accelerating pace

You’ve built a solid business.

Revenue is consistent (or it used to be). The team is capable and your existing market knows you.

But growth is becoming more complex.

  • Markets are tighter

  • Supply chains are shifting

  • Procurement pathways require more strcuture

  • Industry conditions are changing

  • The business is more expose to risk.

The next phase requires more than effort.

It requires stronger strategic discipline, clearer operating structure, and better decision-making capability.

The Industry Growth Program is designed for established SMEs moving from a stable position into expansion or transition from what was a stable position and needing to diversify their markets - and do so by building internal capability to do it without destabilising the business.

Common Expansion Pressures

Expansion Without Structure

You are entering new markets or supply chains, but strategy, positioning and governance are not yet aligned to support scale.

The risk: wasted bids, unclear market entry, margin erosion.

Growth Creating Operational Strain

Revenue is increasing, but systems, reporting, accountability and decision-making structures have not kept pace.

The risk: quality drops, team confusion, cashflow pressure.

Market or Industry Transition

Your sector is evolving — energy transition, manufacturing change, local economic shifts, procurement reform.

The risk: investing in the wrong direction or reacting too late.

In each case, the issue is not effort. It is structural capability.

Strengthen Internal Capability

The Industry Growth Program focuses on building your skills, not just knowledge, to take your business into new markets successfully and equips you with the thinking tools and self-efficacy to make better decisions about what to do in the future.

You focus on:

  • Market expansion strategy

  • Procurement and supply chain readiness

  • Margin protection and pricing discipline

  • Organisational design and reporting rhythms

  • Governance and risk management

  • Scenario planning and structured decision-making

What’s included:

Over 12 weeks, you work through a structured process combining diagnostics, education, coaching and mentoring.

You receive:

A structured growth diagnostic to identify exposure and constraints

  • Strategic market and positioning refinement

  • Procurement and proposal readiness frameworks

  • Organisational structure and role clarity tools

  • Governance and reporting rhythm design

  • Margin and cost structure review

  • AI-enabled analysis for scenario modelling, market insight and operational efficiency (where relevant)

  • One-to-one coaching to apply decisions directly in your business

  • Industry mentor insight for sector context

Everything is applied to your real commercial priorities.

Diagnose - Grow - Lead

Diagnose

Clarify where your business is exposed.
Identify capability gaps across strategy, operations, governance and market positioning.

You gain objective clarity on what must change — and what must be protected.

Grow

Build the systems, structures and strategy required for expansion.

  • Refine positioning

  • Strengthen reporting

  • Redesign operating models

  • Improve procurement readiness

  • Protect margin

Capability is developed deliberately, not reactively.

Lead

Transition from operational management to structured leadership.

Make expansion and transition decisions with governance discipline and risk awareness.

Lead growth without destabilising the business.

Past participant results

“I really can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve benefited from taking part in it… to the point where I credit a lot of our current success to you both and the program! You’ve allowed me to think incredibly clearly about what our product is, who our target consumer is, what problem we’re solving and so much more. I’m sure you’ll be excited to know that as of the 10th of this month, we’ve got nearly $1m in confirmed orders and in the past month have scaled up ten-fold!

— Daniel, Medihood

Tangible Outcomes

By the end of the program, participants leave with:

  • A documented and sequenced expansion roadmap

  • Clear market positioning aligned to growth priorities

  • Defined organisational structure for the next stage

  • Governance rhythms and reporting clarity

  • Identified risk exposures and mitigation plans

  • Greater confidence in procurement or supply chain engagement

  • Practical AI leverage points to improve analysis, efficiency and decision quality

This is measurable capability uplift.

A woman stands at a presentation podium with a laptop, next to a large screen displaying the Cogito Group logo in an office setting with hardwood floors and windows in the background.

Why this program

Builds your skills and supports you to take the right action for your situation

No one knows your business like you and whilst you also may feel like you have the least amount of time to invest in building your capabilities, you set to gain the most.

Unlike generic workshops or topic based, knowledge focused education or hands-on advisory services

Our program is

  • Is structured and time-bound to keep you accountable to achieving an outcome in 12 weeks

  • Is grounded in business growth stage diagnostics and current market dynamics

  • Combines education with coaching and mentoring to build your skills and ensure you get the best outcomes when applying them

  • Builds internal capability rather than outsourcing strategy

  • Helps you build economic resilience and long-term sustainability

We aim to build your structural strength so you can withstand any storm.

Is this the right stage for your business?

This program is best suited to established SMEs with:

  • Clear intent to expand or reposition

  • Willingness to engage in structured capability development

  • An understanding that you get out what you put in

  • Can commit 2-3 hours to working on the program

This is not for your if:

Growth is not a priority

You’re happy with where you are at with your business and you don’t want to grow it any further, get any new contracts or expand your market. Your also not concerned with your own personal growth as a leader.

You don’t want control

You prefer to hand over control to a consultant that will do all of the work for you in creating a strategy without you having to think or understand why you might engage in an activity.

You expect a silver bullet

You are attracted to the jet-setting lifestyle and think you should be able to 10x your business without any hard work from you or your team if only one of your social posts goes viral.

What People Are Saying

“Completing the 25Eight program provided clarity at a critical point in my business journey. It challenged how I think about leadership, scale, and long-term decision making, not through theory, but through practical, real-world conversations with experienced facilitators and peers.

The program helped me step back from daily operations and focus on building systems, people, and structure that support sustainable growth. Just as importantly, it reinforced confidence in navigating uncertainty. Something every business owner faces, but rarely talks about openly.” Adam, Traralgon Paints

Express your interest

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We support SMEs at any stage in their growth journey, however, we benefit those who may not have a support team around them and who would like to build their own capabilities as a business leader.

    You will know your business well, know your customers and are open to a structured process that supports you to consider your opportunities and how to best capitalise on them.

    You also realise that you get out what you put in and we make the program very flexible to enable you to fit in the 2-3 hours per week we recommend you dedicate to it.

  • This program is structured and capability-focused.

    Participants work through:

    • A formal growth diagnostic

    • Applied strategy development

    • Organisational design refinement

    • Governance and reporting structure development

    • Procurement and positioning readiness

    It combines education, coaching and industry mentoring, with direct application inside your business.

    The objective is internal capability uplift, not short-term advice.

  • By the end of the program, participants typically have:

    • A documented expansion roadmap

    • Clear market positioning

    • Defined organisational structure for the next stage including Digital & AI integration where applicable

    • Improved procurement readiness

    • Governance and reporting clarity

    • Identified risk exposure and mitigation priorities

    The outcomes are practical and implemented during the program.

  • The program runs over 12 weeks.

    Participants typically commit:

    • 5 structured sessions

    • Scheduled 30 minute 1:1 calls with business coach

    • Application work between sessions approximately 1.5 hours per week

    • Time for implementation within their business

    This is designed for leaders actively running their businesses not full-time study.

  • The program strengthens procurement readiness and strategic positioning.

    It does not guarantee contracts.

    However, it improves:

    • Value proposition clarity

    • Proposal structure

    • Capability articulation

    • Governance discipline

    • Market alignment

    These are critical components of successful procurement engagement.

  • Yes.

    Many participants join because their sector is shifting — whether due to supply chain change, energy transition, regulatory reform or regional economic adjustment.

    The program supports:

    • Scenario planning

    • Risk assessment

    • Market repositioning

    • Revenue diversification

    It is designed to reduce decision-making risk during transition.

  • Where appropriate, AI is introduced as a strategic tool.

    This may include:

    • Market analysis support

    • Scenario modelling

    • Supply chain optimisation

    • Operating model review

    • Productivity improvements

    The focus is commercial leverage, not content generation or automation for its own sake.

  • Delivery format may vary depending on the funding partner and cohort structure. 25eight runs one online cohort per year.

    Programs always include:

    • Comprehensive diagnostics

    • Structured workshops

    • One-to-one coaching sessions

    • Industry mentor sessions

    Details will be confirmed at the time of a program launching.

  • The program fee is $4,995 + GST per business.

    This includes:

    • A comprehensive diagnostic

    • 12 weeks of facilitated upskilling

    • Applied strategy development

    • 1:1 business coaching

    • Industry mentoring

    • Program materials and frameworks

    • Direct application to your business priorities

    • Bespoke expansion strategy and implementation roadmap

    The investment is positioned for established SMEs who are serious about structured growth and expansion readiness.

    At this stage of business, the financial impact of:

    • entering the wrong market

    • misplacing bids

    • scaling without governance

    • protecting margin poorly

    • or making reactive transition decisions

    can significantly exceed the program fee.

    The objective of the program is to strengthen internal capability so expansion decisions are commercially disciplined, risk-aware and strategically aligned.

    In some cases, where delivered in partnership, the fee may be subsidised. Details are provided at the time of enrolment.

  • At expansion stage, risk increases.

    Without stronger governance, reporting and strategic clarity, growth can:

    • Erode margin

    • Increase operational strain

    • Create leadership overload

    • Expose the business to unnecessary risk

    Structured capability protects the business while enabling expansion.